TO CELEBRATE, OR NOT TO CELEBRATE?

BY ADITHIMANASA

It is international women’s day! Newspapers and magazines are filled with write-ups on how to make the day special for the special woman in your life. Eateries, bakeries, ice parlours, beauty parlours, shopping malls and amusement parks are offering discounts and special offers for women. There could be a beautiful bouquet waiting on your doorstep! A box of gift neatly wrapped could reach you any moment! The people who care for you could surprise you.

Ah! What joy it is to be born a woman. No, wait! Just for one day we are treated like queens… but for the rest of our lives we live in fear. The fear of a rapist waiting to strike! The fear of a stalker hell bent on making you frightened! The fear of a jilted lover who could throw acid on you any time! The fear of a chain snatcher who could catch you off guard! The fear of cops who want money to do the talking! The fear of that driver, teacher, neighbour or stranger who has been threatening you with dire consequences if you reveal the dirty games he played with you when you were a kid! The fear of this…

This women’s day when all are in a celebratory mood, I’m being a pessimist. Well people, don’t you think ‘looking at the brighter side’ actually means ‘compromising or adjusting with the situation’ rather than tackling the bothersome issue? In a male dominated society, women need to either beg or prove their worth in order to ‘demand’ equal status.

PHOTO COURTESY: KBOO.FM

Companies have come up with different mobile apps that help your family keep a track of your whereabouts, that teach you how to defend yourself, that raise an alarm when you are in danger, that inform the police in case you are in trouble, etc., But till date no app has been developed that could change the mindset of the criminal. The woman is destined to be wary all the time as men have the license to make women’s lives miserable.

Celebrating women’s day would really be meaningful if women have not one but many reasons to smile… throughout the year. The day women step out with no worries haunting, can truly be called women’s day! The day men treat women with compassion and respect, women’s day celebration will be meaningful. The day women are no longer being treated as mere objects will there be a feeling of victory and a sense of liberty. That day we all can proudly celebrate women’s day. Till then let’s ‘try’ to be happy and contended with the little joys of life. Happy women’s day! (sic)

NO WOMAN IS DESPERATE TO BE RAPED!

BY ADITHIMANASA

Dr. Asha Mirje is the woman who made news with her controversial statements.

• Girls should not wear clothes that provoke men.

• Girls need to keep in mind the time when they step out of their house.

• Girls need to be careful about their body language.

Agreed. Girls need to be careful about this; girls need to be careful about that; girls need to be careful about everything. Had she stopped at this, the issue wouldn't have been in the news. Being a gynaecologist and being involved in social service, the statements she made shocked everyone.

• Why did Nirbhaya go to the movie with her boyfriend late in the night? Why didn't she go for a morning or afternoon show?

• Nirbhaya invited her rapists!

Good lord! What a statement! Nirbhaya was not only raped, but also brutally tortured and thrown out of a moving bus. She was not even in a position to seek help. After battling for life in the hospital for many days, she breathed her last. Dr. Asha Mirje said that this lass invited rapists!

The fame chasing Dr Mirje. Photo courtesy: The Dailymail

Had Nirbhaya been Dr. Asha Mirje's daughter, would such words come out of Dr. Asha Mirje's mouth? Moreover Congress MP Supriya Sule sat next to Dr. Asha Mirje as if listening to a sermon. Even this female did not feel like interrupting Dr. Asha Mirje! What is to become of us women if women leaders make such horrendous statements? God save us!

• It was the fault of the photojournalist who was gang raped at Shakti Mills. What was the necessity to go to a desolate area alone?

The victim is a photojournalist! Was she supposed to click photographs and collect information from the comfort of her house?

What about women employees of BPO who work late night? Are they supposed to sleep in the office then? Are graveyard shifts meant for male employees alone? If that is the case, then Dr. Asha Mirje, are you going to provide an alternate day job to all those female workers? If you insist women not to step out of their houses then why are you out here to deliver speeches? Even you need to stay indoors! Else, it means that you are inviting rapists!

According to Dr. Asha Mirje, hairstyles and dressing provoke men. If so then why don't rapists spare infants and school kids? Do children wear provocative dress? Why are churidhar/salwar kameez and burqa clad women eve-teased? Do those women hold placards that read "COME, RAPE US”? Or are such comments written all over their face? How dare you question Nirbhaya's character? Doctor madam, you have no right to point fingers at any rape victim or talk about her morale. You should be ashamed of making such statements. Remember, you too are a woman!

It's the mindset of the rapist and not the clothes on the victim's body that need to be changed. Gentlemen don't get provoked. Rapists, sexual offenders, molesters and eve teasers don't need a reason to get provoked.

First comment and then apologize. Why make such sensitive statements in the first place?

Our answer to those who validate rape. Photo courtesy: Reuters

Dr. Asha Mirje, you crave for limelight. You need to first get treated for this disease of yours. NO WOMAN IS DESPERATE TO GET RAPED! You call yourself a social worker? Then you must instill courage in women, not scare them all the more!

It is not the rape victim but women like you making senseless statements that are disgrace to the female clan.

SPARE A THOUGHT AND REGRET!

BY MUHAMMAD WAJIHULLA

“In previous generations, America’s standing economically was so much higher than everybody else’s that we did not have a lot of competition. Now you have got billions of people from Beijing to Bangalore to Moscow, all of whom are competing with you directly.” 

This statement by Obama made Bangalore one of the most distinguished cities globally. This not only gave a boost to the already flourishing city but through this, it recognized India as a major threat to the developed Nations. Today Bangalore is known by various names, it is globally recognized as the Silicon Valley of India. A place blooming with IT companies and educational institutions we have people pouring in from every corner of the world to get a job in this city. 

The city has seen development and progress like no other city in the country. Economically speaking, there is no end to the way this city has progressed. Today Bangalore makes it as a major economic centre with an economic growth of 10.3%, second fastest metropolis in India. Forbes considers Bangalore as one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

A never seen sight in 1990s Bangalore!

But all this fame and recognition that this city enjoys came at a heavy price that pinches every Bengalurean. Was it really worth it? A question that haunts every Bangalorean. I have been a part of this city from the time the doctor cut of that umbilical cord. My entire childhood grew up watching this city transfer from a garden city to a globally frustrating city. During the Pre-Independence era Britishers visited Bangalore to relax and enjoy its lush green beauty and today people from all across the world travel to witness the city sweating with increase in Temperature and Pollution.

Bengaluru houses more than 1.25 crore people, from 2001 to 2011 the population of the city is increased by a whopping 41.7%. What is more depressing is that more outsiders have seeped in than the rightful inhabitants. We today are roughly 30% of the total population. The immigration that has taken shelter in this city has not valued it or taken care of it like they should have - you can call it ignorance or typical immigrant mentality! 

The Bangalore I knew was a clean, beautiful and quiet place. It was known for its pleasant weather, the lush green atmosphere that surrounds you. The journey from my house to my cousins house in BTM Layout was like a once in a month family picnic. We never knew what traffic was, our small roads were sufficient for us. But today it all looks like a dream. If we spare a thought we realize that the city has thought us three things- its three core values ‘Live, Love and Forgive’”. The city has learnt to live with those who don’t belong here, love them despite their ignorance and forgive them for they know not what they have done. 

Sorry if I have hurt the sentiments of anybody with this piece, all I wanted to convey was my frustration seeing this city melt every day. It hurts to see that this is no more the place where I grew up. And for those reading, if you are not from here- treat the city as your own and see the difference! The embrace you will feel is more peaceful than any you would have felt before.

DEJA VU, RESTO BAR- A REVIEW

BY RAJAT S BONGALE

It was a planned family get together and the venue was decided well in advance. With hesitance, I headed to Gopalan Mall on Bannerghatta Road to go into the Deja Vu resto bar. I had never heard of the place before and hence, the hesitance.

Picture courtesy- lifestyle.sulekha.com

 

As I walked into the restaurant, I seemed to be lost. There was nobody who was there to help me out. I didn't know where my family was seated. It took me a while to spot my folks and when I did,  I joined them with an empty plate that was handed over to me by one of the waitresses.  

 

I consulted my family members whose plates were full already. They were stuck with the starters and all they said to me was, ''don't try anything veg. It really isn't worth it.'' Heading to the counter, I spotted some chicken dishes. Ironically, there were no tags to tell me what I was about to serve myself. However, I still went ahead, trusting my senses of sight and smell. 

 

Two chicken starters down, and there was nothing that pleased me enough. I was done trying the starters and headed to the main course. As ridiculous as it might sound, I spotted soup when I went to serve the main course. I thought to myself, ''how bad can they get with a soup? There's really no harm in trying.'' As I served some Chicken Biriyani, which again, had no identification tag, I took a bowl of soup as well.  

 

The soup was edible and I was glad. The first bite of Biriyani and I was sad. It was Biriyani that I was eating but it was disappointing for me to leave it all behind on my plate unfinished. The soup was the only thing I filled my stomach with that afternoon.

DO I SOUND DISAPPOINTED? I HOPE I DO!

ALAS! HERS IS REALLY A WOEBEGONE PLIGHT!

BY CHAITANYESH RUDRACHARYA

Life is a gift of God! Enjoy it! But please, never enjoy your life to harm others, in whichever way it can be! 

The whole nation was up in arms in December 2012! Nirbhaya, a medical student was gang-raped on the roads of the national capital on a bitingly cold Sunday night. After this heinous act, she and her friend, a male, were thrown out of a moving bus, in utter disdain! Horrific and gruesome! No woman or man must ever be subjected to any form of cruelty, for dignity is everyone’s right. But alas! What I say is mere fiction and idealism, for Man has become his worst enemy!

Picture courtesy- Pinki Virani 

For some reason, I began thinking of this girl Nirbhaya aka Jyoti and the ordeal she faced. I felt very sorry for her. So would anyone. And as I was lost in her thoughts, I was reminded of another woman who was raped as many as 40 years ago in a hospital where she practised nursing as her profession. Words truly fail to describe the gut-wrenching condition of Aruna. A look at her in this photograph will bring tears and melt hearts of even the most barbaric and uncivilised brutes.  

Aruna Shanbaug had chosen nursing as her profession to soothe and serve ailing souls, but even in her wildest dreams, she would not have known she would end up on the bed as a victim of rape… as a victim who would never recuperate from rape… be it ten or twenty or forty years! Sohan Lal Walmiki was a ward boy in the same hospital as Aruna’s. And it was he who perpetrated the most henious crime… rape of Aruna Shanbaug. 

But why? 

It is alleged that Sohan Walmiki had fallen into bad company and was frequently stealing money from the purses of the people in the hospital. During one such time, Aruna Shanbaug caught him. Vexed at this, she reprimanded him badly and brought the matter to the notice of the higher ups. With this, Aruna Shanbaug thought the matter had come to an end. she also thought Walmiki would mend his behaviour, but unfortunately that was not the case.

Infuriated at this, Walmiki decided to teach her a lesson and he was waiting for an apt moment for the same. On that ill-fated day, Aruna Shanbaug, after her work, came down to the basement of the hospital to change her dress. Incidentally, this basement, during those times, was completely eerie, with no men or women around. In fact, Aruna had been warned several times not to go to that room all alone, but this warning only fell on deaf ears. 

By the way, as Aruna got into the room and began changing her clothes, Walmiki stepped in with vengeance as his driving force and rape as the reprisal! And then, locking the room, he did the unthinkable! What’s worse, Sohan ensured that she could not scream by gagging her mouth and leashing her using a dog chain! By the way, that day, Aruna had had her periods as well but that too did not deter Arun from unleashing his violence. He sodomised her!

Once the forced sodomy was unleashed, Walmiki silently slipped away from the room, while Aruna lay on the bed, like a lifeless body! The matter came to light, fortunately, when, after the crime was perpetrated, one of the ward boys too came to the room, to change his dress. It was at this juncture that he saw Aruna’s neck tied with a dog’s chain and blood drops trickling down. Appalled at what he had seen, he informed the others, who immediately shifted her to the ward for treatment. 

Truly, that was one moment ghastly enough to scar her life forever! As the treatment was to begin, doctors were horrified to see her brain partially ruptured and many of her organs become dysfunctional! As he choked her with a dog chain and sodomized her, the asphyxiation cut off oxygen supply to her brain, resulting in brain stem contusion injury and cervical cord injury apart from leaving her cortically blind.

That horrible incident took place way back in 1973. Today, it’s been more than 40 years. And you may find it difficult to believe that even to this day Aruna lies on a bed in the same state! She can’t move nor can make her organs function. Like a small child, she lies on the bed, nurses keep taking care of her in turn! 

When one of her friends approached the Supreme Court, it permitted passive euthanasia on her. Even to this day, many rapes, gangrapes and even pedophilia are perpetrated with unimaginable rudery! 

Is being born a woman a crime in our country?  

MISHIKRAFTS- A LAUNCH

BY MADHUMITHA NATARAJAN

Shopping, especially for women, is undoubtedly the best stress-buster. But sadly we live in an era where many are gradually migrating to online shopping. A handful of santhes are organized in cosmopolitan Bengaluru every now and then, but they fail to attract too many visitors.

I happened to bump into one such santhe a few days back. It was organized by MishiKrafts and exhibited a variety of hand-made specialties. The best part, everything was dirt cheap. It was then and there that I decided to write about this one, and I guess I’ll be helping a few with some great gifting ideas!

I would call it a neighborhood santhe, because it was organized in an apartment building corridor; it gave me the feel of ‘home-shopping’, not your home of course. Though  the santhe wasn’t too spacious, one wouldn’t complain as it kept the shoppers in a close-knit gathering, interacting with each other and appreciating each others’ picks. I was surprised at the kind of collection this place had. It practically covered everything that a street-shopper would dole out his/her bucks on! All in one place, without having to walk through sinfully long streets!

If you are a person who loves shopping but your pocket is not so deep, I would suggest you check this out. It has everything: from cosmetics, sarees, dress materials and accessories, to lots and lots more!

But there was something that squarely stole the limelight: homemade soaps! Actually it was the aroma that drove me to them. These are little soaps made of rose petals and other natural scents without any kind of chemical adulteration; they come in unusual flavours like wine, jasmine, cinnamon and lavender, and are also very cutely shaped - hearts, butterflies, bedbugs, roses and designs that your valentine will surely love, if you choose to gift her one! (Oh yes! Valentine’s Day is round the corner; why not try this one out?) 

The prices vary depending on how much it weighs; I paid 50 Bucks for 70 Grams soap and I’ve been using it for over 10 days now and still have half-a-portion left. It saves you the energy of using a scrubber as the rose petals do that job fabulously and the experience is rejuvenating I must say!

I also picked up this homemade and flavoured salt - apparently soaking your feet in warm water mixed with a pinch of this salt, helps relaxing them after a long day in office. (I tried this and trust me; I would suggest this alternative against any pedicure treatments where you shell out hundreds!) These are priced around 40 Bucks for 100 grams and you can use each packet for about 4 sittings! So technically you are spending 10 Bucks for your pedicure, Wow! Isn’t that amazing?

And this little piglet and fish you see, are incense-stick holders. These are about an inch in size and extremely adorable. Your mum or aunt would love it, if you gift them one! Apart from these, there are a lot of branded stuff that are organic and also reasonably priced, compared to many stores in the city. This santhe has handpicked products that are chemical-free, and ones that have the right components that suit every skin and hair type. 

And the bonus, these are not just for women but for men too, so rest assured your spouse/boy friend wouldn’t mind getting you here. Considering the fact that nothing can cause you as much trouble as deciding what to gift a guy, this place will surely help with hassle-free and limited-budget shopping, for stuff that are purely organic and harmless. 

The footfall at the santhe was decent and I saw many passers-by stop, to get a glimpse of it. I actually realized that Bengalureans are always open to such ideas of having homemade, handmade and eco-friendly products!

Overall, the experience was extremely delightful and worthy. We should encourage more such santhes and make the city a unique shopping destination, something that is not seen in other cities. 

STOP SELLING AIR GUNS WITHOUT LICENSES!

BY NOLAN PINTO

2 playful monkeys were shot dead on the 18th of January in the premises of the posh Raheja Residency in Koramangala. The individual who did this was an educated man, a techie.

Picture courtesy- lite.epaper.timesofindia.com

Since he allegedly felt troubled by these monkeys, he shot them using his air gun. As of today, he is absconding and neither the police nor the forest officials have been able to track him.

Whats even more surprising is that he is just a techie and not some big shot executive, politician or the lot for the police to be unable to arrest him or maybe he is actually somebody! Imagine, in today's India, getting arrested and being answerable to the law many a time depends on who you are or who you know, sad.

Now what we have gathered is that while one monkey died on the spot, the other struggled for a good 30 odd minutes. I thought to myself why nobody bothered to do anything about it. One good Samaritan who found out about this incident and whose father was in the ICU actually called a Vet and in his car took the poor injured monkey to the Vet's clinic but unfortunately due to the delay and traffic on the roads, it passed away in his car. For so many people out there, only one man decided to do something, one man still had humanity left within him.

Again it’s tough to blame the others. We are not trained from school what to do when an animal is injured or ill treated. Nobody bothers about them and for those who do, they are seen as soft or that they have no other better work to do. Maybe the rest were confused about what to do. But for those who wanted the media to come first before they did anything, it’s just disgusting to say the least. 

Picture courtesy- indiansforguns.com

I remember when a close family friend of ours got his air gun from Coorg to Mysore in 2001 and showed it to me. I was so thrilled then and immediately went about using the air gun. He taught me how it’s important to stop breathing or to hold my breath for that second before the trigger is pulled. Now one afternoon, I saw these monkeys moving near my neighbor’s compound. I rushed inside and got the air gun out. And taking aim, I fired one shot. The monkeys immediately went searching for cover. Till today, I can still see those monkeys peeping from behind the trees to watch me. They were scared and were waiting for me to go before they proceeded. Every now and then, they kept looking at me to see if I will shoot or not.

I stopped then and there when I saw this. I could not do anything to hurt them. Today, even if they come into our garden, we let them pass by and never stop them from plucking fruits or flowers. So much so, that some even come to our kitchen window where we feed them with slices of bread.

We have taken over their homes for crying out loud and complain when they come into our compounds or near our flats. The least we can do is grow fruit bearing trees so that when they pass by they will have something to eat and some place to rest. If all of us do that, not only will we be helping them but also the bird population that has dipped tremendously in Bangalore.

People For Animals (PFA), an NGO headed by Maneka Gandhi had sometime back filed a case arguing that air weapons were being used to kill animals and birds. The Delhi HC had passed an order making it mandatory for air weapons to have licenses. But a two-member bench of the apex court in early 2012 granted the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) interim relief from the HC order dated May 7, 2011, which struck down the exemption given to air weapons from license under the Arms Act of 1959.  It was stated that the ruling was difficult to implement since thousands of air weapons are held without licenses and the HC order was seen as hampering development of the sport at the grassroots level.

I firmly believe that the time is right for another serious look into this considering what has happened in Bangalore. Why not make licenses compulsory along with the number of pellets sold? How will it hamper the sport? So what if they have to pay some fees to acquire an air weapon? At least the government will have an idea as to how many air weapons are out there. 

What do you think about this? I would like to know if something can be done. Do share your opinions with us.